Which Article of Indian Constitution defines the duration of Panchayat?

Part IX of the Constitution (Articles 243 to 243-O), inserted by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, is the code for Panchayats. Each article in this Part is dedicated to one specific aspect of a Panchayat's existence — how it is constituted, how it is composed, how seats are reserved, how long it lasts, what powers it has, or how the pre-amendment regime carries over — so the article label itself signals the subject it governs.

Article 243E is the provision dedicated to a Panchayat's term of office. It provides that:

• Every Panchayat continues for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting, unless it is dissolved earlier under any law for the time being in force.

• An election to constitute a new Panchayat must be completed before the expiry of this five-year duration.

• If a Panchayat is dissolved before the end of its term, an election to reconstitute it must be completed within six months of the dissolution.

• A Panchayat so reconstituted continues only for the remainder of the original five-year period, not a fresh full term.

Contrast with the other provisions offered:

• Art. 243(B) governs how Panchayats are constituted at the village, intermediate, and district levels — the structural setup of the three-tier system, not how long a Panchayat sits.

• Art. 243(N) is a transitional saving provision: it kept panchayat-related laws and existing bodies in force for a limited period after the 73rd Amendment commenced, unrelated to an ongoing term of office.

• Art. 243(O) bars courts from interfering in matters relating to panchayat elections — a procedural safeguard for the election process, not a provision about tenure.

Since the stem asks specifically which article fixes the DURATION of a Panchayat, and Article 243E is the one that lays down this five-year tenure and its exceptions, Art. 243(E) is the article being asked for.